Mold for casting copper.



PATBN-TBD OCT. 8, 1907.

F. -L. ANI'ISELL. MOLD FOR CASTING COPPER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21,1906.

WITNESSES:

ARV 0- mus urns Cm. msamcmzv, n. c

PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK LINDEN ANTISELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MOLD FOR CASTING COPPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 8, 1907 v Application filed November 21, 1906. Serial No.288,394.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK LINDEN ANTIsELL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Molds for CastingCopper, and especially for casting copper anodes for electrolyticrefining-batteries, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in molds in which copper anodes forelectrolytic refining batteries are cast. As a preliminary to describingmy invention, I will briefly set forth the means heretofore used and theprocess heretofore practiced in casting copper anodes so that theimportance of my invention may be more readily understood.

The mold heretofore used in casting such anodes was made of a singlepiece of metal, usually cast iron. This mold consisted of acomparatively thick bottom and upwardly projecting walls approximatelythe shape of the anode to be cast. The mold was left entirely open onits upper side and the metal was poured into the mold near the centerthereof, and the molten metal spread out to the walls of the mold. Thecopper used in casting the anodes was melted in a reverberatory furnaceof about 100 tons capacity. In casting the anode, molten copper to theamount of 500 pounds and at 2000 F., was poured into the mold near thecenter, striking approximately'within a space of about two inches wideand 14 inches long, and the heat of the molten copper as it was pouredinto the mold soon raised the temperature of the upper surface of thebottom of the mold to 2000 F. while the under surface possibly was notmore than 500, which caused the upper surface to expand to a greatextent compared with the expansion of the under surface. to bow or liftthe mold in the center which caused cracks to appear across the mold ashort while after the mold was used. The largest crack was always atright angles to the length of the mold. In other words, a break in themold occurred at right angles to the length thereof upon its uppersurface,while the outer metal or lower surface of the mold remainedintact. When a crack once appeared in the mold it did not close when themold cooled off, but became permanent. When the molten metal was pouredinto such a mold, the metal filled the crack and the under side of thecasting was not perfect owing to the projection or fin that was madethereon.

This tended tended -to still further enlarge the crack and also causedthe cracked edges of the mold to break and scale off, whereby a. rapiddeterioration of the mold followed and in a short time the mold had tobe thrown away and a new one used.

To overcome the objections resulting from the uneven expansion of themold ordinarily used heretofore, it has been proposed 'to cast the moldout of a high grade iron resembling a gun metal mixture, and also tomake the molds of stee but such molds have been found to. be open to thes me objections as iron molds. It has also been proposed to make thebottom of the mold comparatively thin, but this has not been foundsatisfactory and it did not overcome the existing objections.

It is the object of my invention to overcome the objections existing inprior molds and to produce a mold which will allow for expansion andwhich will assume its original shape when cool, and in which the anodewill be cast smooth and which will not quickly deteriorate.

Other objects will appear from the hereinafter description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which thesame reference character indicates the same part in the several views.

Figure 1 is a plan view of my mold. Fig. 2 is a cross section thereof online 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar section showing how the mold willexpand during casting. Fig. 4 is a detail showing the means for fillingin the space which may be formed between the meeting edges of thesections of the mold.

The part lettered A on the drawing represents a mold which consists oftwo sections or parts a a which are joined together at the edges on linea a represents pins or dowels used to hold the inner ends of the twosections together and to keep the upper or inner surface of the mold inalinement.

a and a are the two upwardly extending end walls of the mold and a and aare the upwardly extending side walls thereof. The walls of the mold aregiven substantially the shape of the anode, as shown in Fig. l

of the drawing. The end wall a of the mold is provided with 2. lug orprojection a with an upwardly beveled under edge. The outer surface ofthe other end wall a near the middle thereof is beveled or inclined, asshownat a.

B is a clamp which supports and holds together the two sections of themold. This clamp has two upturned ends b b and extends longitudinallyunderneath the mold with the upper edge 6 of the end I) resting againstthe under beveled surface of the projection a of the mold. Through theupturned end b of the clamp pass set screws b the inner ends of whichrest against the beveled portion a of the end wall a of the mold. Allthis is clearly shown in the drawing. This construction securelysupports and holds the two parts of the mold together, but permits thetwo parts to move upwardly in the center and with a hinge action on thelower meeting edges (1 as will appear from Fig. 3 of the drawing.

By making the mold in two parts and clamping the parts together in themanner herein described, a great part of the internal stress is relievedduring the operation of casting, and the two parts operating on a hingeprinciple permit the upper surface of the mold to expand, and theelastic limit of the cast iron forming the mold is not exceeded andcracks are thus avoided. If the meeting edges (1 of the two sections ofthe mold become worn for any reason, it is not necessary to throw themold away, as it may be easily repaired by placing therein a metalfiller and some such material as asbestos. In some cases it may bedesirable toiorm the meeting edges of the mold so that even when coldthe upper part of these edges will have a space between which may befilled by a metal filling and asbestos or similar material. In Fig. t Ihave shown such a construction in which the opening is indicated by (l.The part marked D represents the metal filling which may have an openingd at each end through which passes the dowel a to hold the filling inplace. d represents the asbestos or similar filling material which istacked in on each side of the filling piece and completely fills up theopening or space between the sections of the mold. In some cases themetal filling may be entirely omitted and the space filled by theasbestos. In this construction when the inner surface of the moldexpands and begins to assume the form indicated in Fig. 3 of thedrawing, the asbestos filling will keep the opening completely closedand when the mold contracts it presses the asbestos together again. Atall times the opening is completely filled In this mold it will be seenthat there will be no cracks or openingsto cause fins or projections tobe cast upon the anode.

Such a mold is easily and cheaply constructed and may be easily repairedand will last longer than molds heretofore constructed.

While I have described my mold as made of two sec tions, it is evidentthat it may be made of more than two, and furthermore, it is obviousthat various changes and modifications may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A metal mold having a bottom and side walls extending around andconnected to the bottom, the said bottom and walls consisting of aplurality of sections loosely connected together, and means for holdingthe sections together while in use and permitting the bottom to expandon one surface to a greater extent than the other and to resume itsnormal position without cracking the mold.

2. A metal mold consisting of a bottom and side walls, said bottom andwalls being made up 01 a, plurality of sections loosely connectedtogether so that when the sections are joined together an open lop moldis formed. and means for holding the sections together, but permit tingthe upper or inner surface of the mold to expand to a greater degreethan the outer surface when the mold is used, and also permitting themold to resume its normal position when cold without cracking.

3. A mold consisting of sections joined together, one wall of the moldbeing provided with a ledge and the other with an inclined surface, aclamp below the mold extending from one of these walls to the other,said clamp having up turned ends on one of which rests the ledge of themold, a set screw passing through the other end and resting against theother wall of the mold. as and for the purpose set forth.

4. A mold consisting of sections of metal loosely joined together,dowels extending across the joined edges, one section having a lodge onthe outside thereof and the other having an inclined surface, a clampextending underneath the two sections, said clamp having two upturnedends resting against the lug, and a set screw passing through the otherend which bears against the inclined edge of the other part of the mold,whereby the two sections are held together to form a completed mold andwhereby the two sections are permitted to expand and move on the lowermeeting edges without straining or cracking the mold.

5. A metal mold consisting of a plurality of sections joined togetherwith a space between the meeting edges of said sections, a fiat metaltiller in said sp: -e, means for holding the metal filler in said spaceasbest also in said space, and means for holding the sections together.

6. A metal mold consisting of a plurality of sections having an openingbetween the meeting edges, a dowel connecting the sections, a metalfiller in said space. said filler having an opening therein throughwhich the dowel passes, asbestos or similar material also in said space,and means for holding the sections together.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand at the city, county andState of New York this sixteenth day of November, 1905.

FRANK LINDEN AN'IISELI). In presence of ALLAN \V. Foosn, JOHN .T.RANAGAN.

